Friday, December 18, 2009

Review - Wayward Angels by Karen Wiesner

What do you get with a former wild man who's committed his path to the Lord and a woman who has absolutely nothing to lose? It's either a match made in heaven...or a sure-fire heartache.

Gregg Stevens has spent a lifetime making bad decisions, never knowing true love. Stormie Knight, a new Christian, beguiles him with her eccentricities and well-kept secrets. Extracting those secrets could shatter both of their hearts, along with the newborn faith of a wayward angel not yet ready to spread her wings.

This is a truly beautifully emotional and engaging story! It is my favorite so far in this series!

Stormie is an absolutely striking character! She is bipolar and struggles with the fact that she can never be “normal.” I have known several people with this disorder and I think Ms. Wiesner did an excellent job of portraying the intense high and low mood swings that plague a bipolar individual. The self destructive cycle of feeling good enough to stop taking the medication and then crashing without it is the sad and difficult reality of this behavioral disorder. This book gives interesting insight into the mental battles of the person who is afflicted with the disorder!

Gregg is a wonderful character too. He is captivated by the beautiful and natural Stormie but he wants to give them both time to overcome their past demons and to grow in their relationship! I liked how he continually took his struggles to the Lord because he recognized that he did not have the strength within himself to overcome the temptations facing him!

In an additional “sub-story” Gregg deals with helping one of the boys at the Wayward Angels boy’s shelter. There is heartbreak when they discover Diego has aids from childhood abuse. The relationship between Gregg and Diego is shown as a loving father for a son. Here too Gregg shows unconditional acceptance and love.

Stormie and Diego struggle with accepting the friendship and love offered them as they do not see themselves as worthy. Also, past history and their medical conditions have given them reason to be distrustful and wary.

The plot is woven from the secrets kept, the desire to trust and be trusted and the struggles in the developing relationships. I enjoyed the whole book but the last third I was barely able to set the book aside! Ms. Wiesner is a master story teller! This is a Gotta read for everyone to understand the difficulties of bipolar disorder and also for the sheer enjoyment of a well crafted story! Be sure to check out the other books in the series too!